A team of health and medical researchers affiliated with a host of institutions across Sweden has tested the possibility of reprogramming cancer cells into cDC1 cells as a means for destroying the protective shield around tumors, allowing the immune system to kill them. Their paper is published in the journal Science.
Prior research has shown the reason the immune system is not able to destroy some types of cancerous tumors is that the tumors develop a shield or protective barrier that prevents T cells from directly attacking them. In this new study, the research team developed a new approach to destroying these barriers so that the immune system can do its job.
The new approach involves reprogramming tumor cells into cDC1 immune cells that can destroy the cells that make up the tumor barrier, thereby allowing T cells to make their way to the tumor and kill it. The researchers identified three transcription factors that could be used to convert other types of cells into cDC1 cells, and then inserted genetic sequences from those cells into a virus to transport the reprogrammed cells to the tumor barrier.
The team first tested their reprogrammed cells by injecting them into tumor cells in a petri dish. The cells were then injected into test mice. Comparison with untreated tumor cells in same-type mice showed that the treated cells expanded more slowly than untreated cells.
The researchers repeated the experiments, but in the second trial, also injected the mice with immunotherapeutic drugs, which prevented the tumor cells from spreading at all. The researchers also found that the treatment increased the number of memory T cells, which protected the mice from future introduction of tumor cells.
To find out if their approach might work on humans, the research team tested it with in vitro human cells and found it worked equally well. They plan to continue their research, working toward a clinical trial. If all goes well, they hope their approach proves to be a breakthrough in cancer treatment.
More information:
Ervin Ascic et al, In vivo dendritic cell reprogramming for cancer immunotherapy, Science (2024). DOI: 10.1126/science.adn9083
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Reprogramming cancer cells to attack themselves (2024, September 16)
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